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| A fire fighter is trying to distinguish a
fire on buring vehicle in the town of Montfermeil east of Paris May
31, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP photo) |
PARIS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Riot police were deployed
in a troubled suburb of Paris on Tuesday night after around 100 youths armed
with sticks and baseball bats clashed with police.
In the worst such violence since the riots of last
November, the youths hurled Molotov cocktails at public buildings and
peltedpolice with projectiles.
The violence broke out in the town of Montfermeil
just 15 kilometers east of Paris, with trouble also erupting in nearby
Clichy-sous-Bois -- the flash point of last year's riots.
Dozens of vans carrying riot police officers were
stationed around Montfermeil Tuesday night. A helicopter was used to keep the
area under surveillance.
Clashes erupted on Monday night when a gang attacked
the mayor's home in Montfermeil, shaking its gates and hurling stones at the
windows.
They also targeted the town hall, shattering its
glass facade with stones, throwing Molotov cocktails and setting fire to cars
and a large number of garbage bins.
The violence was a stark reminder of the anger of
residents in the suburbs, despite new government efforts to tackle high youth
unemployment and racial inequalities following the three weeks of rioting last
fall which shook the country.
National police said nine officers suffered light injuries, mostly from projectiles, during the three hours of unrest in Montfermeil on Monday. Enditem